Mathew Barzal will miss Islanders' season opener due to 'aggravation of a prior injury'
Islanders center Mathew Barzal skates with the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period at UBS Arena on April 14. Credit: Brad Penner
The Islanders are starting training camp with an injury. Top-six forward Mathew Barzal will not be ready for the regular-season opener on Sept. 30 in Toronto.
The team announced on Wednesday that Barzal will not skate for the next two weeks “due to an aggravation of a prior injury that has caused some inflammation.” No further specific details on the injury were provided.
The Islanders conducted medical testing on Wednesday, and Thursday marks the first on-ice sessions for training camp at the Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. The opener of their four-game preseason schedule is Sunday afternoon against the Devils in Newark, New Jersey.
Barzal, 29, is entering the fourth season of an eight-year, $73.2 million deal. He compiled 19 goals and 53 assists in 81 games last season coming off of knee surgery. He missed the final 31 games of 2024-25 after injuring his left kneecap blocking a shot on Feb. 1, 2025.
“He is actively working to get back to full health,” the Islanders said in a statement announcing Barzal’s injury. “There is nobody more committed than Mathew to getting his body to the level where he thrives on the ice. We expect him to continue getting healthy and back in the lineup as soon as possible.”
Coach Pete DeBoer, who took over for Patrick Roy with four games remaining last season, was planning to use Barzal as a center this season. He has played mostly on the wing since top-line center Bo Horvat, named the Islanders’ 16th captain on Monday, was acquired from the Canucks on Jan 30, 2023.
“That speed through the middle of the ice is really dangerous,” DeBoer said in April after conducting his second practice as Islanders coach. “And the good teams all have that.”
Still, DeBoer does have other options at center to start training camp including Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Brayden Schenn, Casey Cizikas, Kyle MacLean and Cal Ritchie, entering his second season.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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